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New York City Bishop Lamor Whitehead is facing a new indictment with federal officials alleging he falsified bank records to fund a New Jersey mansion.
According to an indictment filed in Manhattan Federal Court, Whitehead altered bank statements to make it appear as if his company had $2 million “when in fact during that time period [the business] had an average ending balance of less than $10,” per NY Daily News.
Federal officials further allege that Whitehead submitted fake bank documents when applying for a $250,00 business loan for his company, Anointing Management Services LLC, in 2018.
Though he wasn't approved for the business loan, the bishop continued to use the forged documents, submitting an application for a $1.3 million mortgage to finance the purchase of his six-bedroom, seven-bathroom mansion in Paramus, NJ.
Whitehead “fabricated bank records for AMS LLC, from at least in or about October 2018 up to and including … February 2019, in an effort to obtain a mortgage in excess of $1.3 million to fund [his] purchase of a home in Paramus, New Jersey," federal prosecutors wrote in the indictment.
Whitehead, who is already facing four counts from a December arrest, was hit with an additional count of wire fraud in connection to the alleged falsified bank records.
Whitehead’s lawyer, Dawn Florio, said the bishop denies the new allegations.
“Lamor Whitehead will be pleading not guilty when he is arraigned on the [superseding] indictment and denies those charges,” Florio said.
Whitehead, the pastor of Leaders of Tomorrow international, made headlines last year after he was robbed at gunpoint of over $1 million worth of jewelry during a live-streamed church service. In December, the bishop was arrested after federal officials said he swindled a parishioner out of $90,000, extorted a businessman, and lied to the FBI.
Whitehead previously pleaded not guilty to the four counts stemming from his December arrest. He was released on a $500,000 bond.
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